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Joe Biden Hints At 2020 Presidential Election Run To Take On Donald Trump

By Josh Moorcroft
Published on: 01:10 PST, Dec 6, 2016

Vice President Joe Biden has hinted that he plans to run for president in 2020. Biden, who will be 78 at the time of the next presidential election, confirmed that he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll mount a bid in 2020.

According to the Guardian, the current vice president and former senator was asked by a reporter whether or not he plans to run again in 2020.

Biden confirmed his plans, saying, “I’m going run in 2020. What the hell.”

With a smile on his face, it was widely assumed that Biden was joking. But when pressed on the issue, Biden paused for several seconds and clarified his remarks, saying, “I’m not committing not to run. I’m not committing to anything. I learned a long time ago, fate has a strange way of intervening.”

Biden did appear to walk back his comments somewhat, but the fact still remains that Biden is considering another presidential run in order to take on Donald Trump in 2020. If Joe Biden does choose to run again in 2020, it would be his third run, following failed attempts to secure the Democratic nomination in 1988 and 2008. However, Biden is leaving office as one of the most popular vice presidents in history, which would allow him to take on any potential challengers — potentially including First Lady Michelle Obama.

Biden was widely expected to mount a presidential bid for 2016. However, he ended speculation in 2015 by ruling himself out of the race against Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination. At the time, Biden’s family were still recovering from the loss of his eldest son, Beau, to cancer in May.

Biden confirmed the news at the time, saying, “As my family and I have worked through the grieving process. I’ve said all along that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president. I’ve concluded it has closed.”

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According to the Telegraph, Joe Biden launched his first presidential bid in 1998 and then again in 2008. Biden pulled out of the race early on both occasions. However, Biden has risen to prominence during his two terms as President Obama’s vice president. During that time, Biden became one of the most popular and most powerful vice presidents, largely because of his close relationship with the president.

Given his popularity leaving office, it’s undeniable that many within the Democratic party would be pleased to see Biden launch another presidential bid. Of course, if Biden did run for the presidency in 2020, he’d most likely be going head to head with current president-elect Donald trump, who beat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in a shock election victory last month. Clinton, of course, served alongside Biden in the Obama administration, with Biden appearing on the campaign trail in support of Clinton during the election.

Biden would also be a difficult contender for Trump, who was elected off the back of working class support across the Rust Belt. Biden is famously well loved in the region, especially amongst working class voters. In fact, it’s believed that’s why President Obama selected Biden as his running mate in 2008. With that in mind, Biden could claw back a lot of working class support for the Democrats in 2020.

The 2020 presidential election is still four years away. With that in mind, the Democrats are likely to think carefully about which candidate to pit against Donald Trump, who is likely to be running for a second term.

[Featured Image by Mark Makela/Getty Images]

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